"First person that made me really look at her" - Former Tennessee star  Candace Parker gets emotional recalling Pat Summitt's influence on her life

Former Tennessee Volunteers ace Candace Parker made a name for herself as a star under former Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt between 2004 and 2008. The now-retired Parker got emotional during a Monday segment of "Storytime" while reminiscing about the influence that the legendary Summitt had on her everyday life.

"I would say eye contact is really, really important," Candace Parker said. "And she was the first person that made me really, truly when she would talk. And so, now, when I'm at home when I'm parenting my son, he says, 'Look at me, look at me' like all the time because I didn't realize that I say that all the time.

"She had this crystal blue stare that she could get you to want to run through walls and so, being able to carry on her legacy is truly important."

Candace Parker had a legendary Vols career under Pat Summitt

Candace Parker committed to the Tennessee Volunteers under coach Pat Summitt in 2003 and was the first women's player to announce her commitment on ESPNEWS.

Although she redshirted her freshman season due to a knee injury, Parker quickly took over the conference winning the SEC Rookie of the Year in 2005, and was the fastest player in Lady Vols history to score 1,000 points (56 games).

She led the Lady Vols to two consecutive national championships (2007, 2008) for the first time in 10 years and more importantly, Summitt's last championships in her storied career that totaled eight nattys.

On the "Just Women's" podcast, Parker spoke about Summitt's leadership style during their time together in Knoxville and how close they were.

“I think coach Summit’s leadership style was she listened, she empowered her players, and she didn’t treat every player the same. She treated us with the same respect,” Parker said.

“We just clicked, and she just became like a second mom to me. Every time I’m tired, I can hear her saying, ‘You’ve never arrived.' You are always working towards something, and what got you to this point isn’t going to be what keeps you here … That’s the story I always remember about her, and it's a story that continues to guide me.”

Parker finished her Tennessee career as one of the greatest ever players to have ever played for the program. She finished with 2,137 points (No. 3 all-time) and won two National Player of the Year awards before she was picked No. 1 overall by the Los Angeles Sparks during the 2008 Draft.

Candace Parker showed the regard that she held her former coach when she was part of a joint bid with NFL legend Peyton Manning to bring an expansion WNBA team to Nashville that would be named "Tennessee Summitt" in honor of her former Volunteers coach. In May last year, the legendary Parker even named her second son Hartt Summitt Petrakov Parker, after the former Vols coach.